My S needs to decide between Skidmore and Bates. He will be majoring in theater with possible double major in Environmental Studies or other area. He would like to know how the Bates theater program compares to Skidmore’s program? Is there any active student run theater club? Is it possible to double major at Bates?
It is possible to double major at Bates, but because every major requires a senior thesis, fewer people do it than at other schools. Some do, though. I’ve been told that one way to avoid writing two theses at once is to take one capstone in the fall and the other in the spring. In addition, Bates has the major + requirement, which means that every student has to have a major plus either a second major, a minor, or an interdisciplinary concentration (GEC), so there various ways to pursue concentrated, thematic areas of study. I don’t know much about the theater department at Bates, but I can say that the environmental studies program is outstanding.
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Skidmore’s theatre program is very strong. Relatively few schools, even when considered nationally, offer theatre programs on its level.
As a professional theatre artist, I would give the edge to Skidmore.
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Only the edge, @CanadianMTgirl?
I think you can get a great theatre education at many colleges (I attended a very small LAC in Wisconsin that never gets discussed on this forum outside of the Theatre/Drama and Musical Theatre Major subforums), so I try not to get too wrapped up in prestige! What I will say is that I have encountered more colleagues working professionally in the field with degrees from Skidmore than I have from Bates, and that I know a few artists quite well who graduated from Skidmore who I find to be really creative and generative!
However, I don’t know how strong Skidmore’s Environmental Studies program would be - but I do have a friend who’s pursued a career in environmental science who went to Bates and is very happy with how her education prepared her for her career.
I would give the edge to Skidmore because I think it’s great that the Saratoga Shakespeare Festival is located in Saratoga Springs and rehearses (to my knowledge) on Skidmore campus. Even if SSF has gotten rid of their formal professional training program (I know it went on hiatus during the worst of the pandemic), I know many students and alums have worked there. It’s great for students to have an Equity theatre in town.
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